The Levee: A Photographer in the American South

Edition ONE Gallery will host renowned photographer David Michael Kennedy for a special exhibition on Friday, October 17th, 5 - 7 PM. The show coincides with the release of Bruce Springsteen's highly anticipated Nebraska '82: Expanded Edition, a five-disc box set featuring the legendary Electric Nebraska sessions, and the theatrical release of his biopic, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. David’s photograph for Springsteen's Nebraska album cover is among the most recognizable images in rock history. The image was originally captured in winter 1975, depicting a desolate road seen through a car windshield during a snowstorm.br> "The cover shot was taken from the window of an old pickup truck in the dead of winter," Kennedy recalls. The photo encapsulates the stark, reflective mood of Springsteen's acoustic album, becoming a lasting symbol of American loneliness and resilience.br> The exhibition will feature prints from Kennedy's photoshoot with Springsteen, which also appear on the album covers in the box set. Visitors will have a rare chance to see and acquire the images that define the visual identity of one of America's most influential albums.br> Kennedy is also renowned for his mastery of platinum/palladium printing, creating work that extends beyond music photography to evocative Southwest landscapes and portraiture, including striking images of Native American ceremonial dance. His early work documents a wide range of iconic musicians, among them Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Muddy Waters, Yo-Yo Ma, and Debbie Harry.

The term mono no aware (the pathos of things) expresses the Japanese concept of appreciating the transient beauty of life and objects. The project focuses on three subjects: 14th-century Japanese Noh masks; the stones and trees that surround the remains of ancient shrines; and the wildflowers and grasses that bloom briefly near Izu’s home. Izu invites viewers to encounter the depth of his subjects through lustrous images that explore impermanence and refined aesthetic through three ideas: yugen (mystical and profound), sabi (beauty with aging), and wabi (austere beauty). The gelatin silver and platinum palladium prints on view are uniquely matted using antique silverleaf recovered from historic folding screens and trimmed with fabrics taken from vintage kimonos, making every work a one-of-a-kind fusion of photographic artistry and Japanese heritage.

n Japanese, utsuroi refers to the gradual and inevitable transformation from one state to another. It suggests that nothing is reliable and everything is ephemeral. Produced between spring and autumn of 2020, “Utsuroi” is a series reflecting the internal and external states experienced during the height of the pandemic, when I lived in isolation at my home in upstate New York. With minimal outside interaction, my loneliness forced me to introspect and face my inner self. Weighed down by the heaviness of the deaths and sorrows around the world, yet unable to do anything or go anywhere, I was engulfed by feelings of helplessness and blockage. I found some reprieve in solitary walks down to the lake, during which I became keenly aware of the cyclical nature of the water lilies that appear year after year.

Last Art School at Hunter College Art Galleries emerges as a vivid reflection on the shifting landscape of higher arts education. Curated by Lindsey White, the Arthur & Carol Kaufman Goldberg Visiting Curator and Artist in Residence, the exhibition captures a period of transformation and tension within academic institutions. As educators, researchers, and students across the United States face censorship, dismissal, and dislocation, White’s project turns toward the power of networks, mutual support, and creative resilience. It becomes both an artistic statement and a gesture of solidarity, grounded in a legacy of activism and shared purpose. Set within the 205 Hudson Gallery, White constructs a theatrical environment that brings together her own works alongside those of peers who navigate the evolving dynamics of art education. The exhibition includes artists such as Mario Ayala, Alex Bradley Cohen, Dewey Crumpler, Alicia McCarthy, and others whose contributions explore hierarchy, transformation, and utopia through the lens of personal experience. Some works explicitly confront the institution as subject, while others approach the theme more obliquely, revealing the humor, contradiction, and fragility of creative life within academia. Integral to the exhibition are archival materials from the San Francisco Art Institute Legacy Foundation and Archive, as well as children’s drawings from the Rhoda Kellogg Collection. Kellogg’s belief that spontaneous visual expression is fundamental to human development resonates deeply with White’s vision of education as an open, imaginative space. The SFAI archive, meanwhile, stands as a poignant reminder of community-driven art education following the institute’s closure in 2022 after 151 years. Beyond the gallery walls, Last Art School extends into a communal dining and meeting space, where conversation, collaboration, and shared meals become acts of resistance and renewal. By creating room for dialogue, documentation, and care, White reimagines the art school not as a fixed institution, but as a living, collective practice. Image: Lindsey White. Courtesy of the artist. © Lindsey White

Galerie XII Los Angeles presents Moving Still, an intimate journey into the lives of filmmakers as seen through the lens of photographer Lauri Gaffin. Blending evocative imagery with personal narrative, Gaffin offers a rare, behind-the-scenes exploration of cinema’s creative heartbeat. With more than four decades of experience, her work captures both the spectacle and the quiet humanity that unfold beyond the camera’s gaze. From independent treasures like Fargo and Land of the Lost to blockbuster productions such as Iron Man, Gaffin’s photographs chronicle the diversity and unpredictability of the film world. Her camera has followed crews through the icy expanse of Edmonton and across the sun-scorched deserts of the Mojave, revealing a visual rhythm shaped by persistence, humor, and curiosity. Each frame testifies to her unrelenting search for beauty in the controlled chaos of filmmaking. Through candid images and reflective writing, Gaffin illuminates the collaborative essence of cinema. Her portraits of directors, actors, and technicians uncover the shared trust and improvisation that sustain production life. In revisiting Fargo, she captures the brilliant precision of cinematographer Roger Deakins and the mischievous energy of the Coen brothers—moments where vision and spontaneity converge. Yet, Gaffin’s story reaches beyond the set. Interwoven with memories of personal hardship, family pressures, and the delicate balance between professional devotion and private struggle, her work resonates with authenticity. Her photographs become more than documentation—they are meditations on endurance, creativity, and belonging. As curator Britt Salvesen notes, Moving Still is “so much more than an illustrated filmography.” It stands as a luminous tribute to the artistry of filmmaking and the transformative gaze of photography, reminding viewers that the motion behind every still image is, ultimately, the pulse of life itself. Image: Motel, Land of the Lost, 2009 Archival pigment print. 40.64 x 60.96 cm / 16.0 x 24.0 in Edition of 5 © Lauri Gaffin

DC Moore Gallery presents Duane Michals: The Nature of Desire, an exhibition devoted to the artist’s poetic and psychological exploration of desire, particularly his fascination with the male form. Through his distinctive combination of photography and handwritten text, Michals creates a dialogue between image and language that examines the emotional and spiritual dimensions of longing. The exhibition includes works inspired by the writings of Walt Whitman and Constantine Cavafy, both of whom profoundly influenced Michals’s reflections on beauty, intimacy, and the human connection. Michals’s photographs often unfold in sequences, each frame a fragment of thought, gesture, or revelation. By inscribing his images with personal reflections, he transforms photography into a form of visual poetry—a meditation on what it means to yearn, to imagine, and to love. He once wrote, “In photography I tried to reveal to myself the exact point of desire.” This pursuit moves beyond physical attraction toward the metaphysical, uncovering how desire binds us to one another through memory, imagination, and the longing for transcendence. In works such as The Nature of Desire (1986), Michals approaches eros as both revelation and mystery, echoing the lyrical humanism of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and the tender melancholy of Cavafy’s verse. His scenes—men bathing, touching, or lost in contemplation—suggest moments suspended between dream and reality. The everyday gestures he captures become symbols of grace, vulnerability, and fleeting beauty. These images, infused with nostalgia and introspection, remind us that desire is not merely a force of attraction but a profound expression of being alive. In preserving such ephemeral moments, Michals offers an invitation to share in his vision: that to desire is to recognize both our isolation and our deepest longing for communion. Image: A Man Dreaming In The City, 1969 Gelatin silver print 4 3/4 X 7 inches (image); 8 x 10 inches (paper) Edition 16/25 © Duane Michals

Hans P. Kraus JR. Gallery presents Form Follows Function in Early Photographs, on view through November 26, 2025. The exhibition gathers a remarkable selection of early works that reflect architect Louis Sullivan’s enduring principle that “form ever follows function.” Through the lenses of pioneers such as William Henry Fox Talbot, Victor Regnault, Félix Teynard, Henri Le Secq, and Frederick H. Evans, the show explores how photography captured architecture not merely as structure, but as living expression—each form molded by its use and purpose. William Henry Fox Talbot, the father of the calotype, found artistic pleasure in documenting the ancient architecture of Oxford. His salt print of the Radcliffe Camera, taken from the High Street, stands as one of his most poetic compositions—a balance of structure and light that transforms stone into image. Talbot’s work embodies the dialogue between form, material, and emerging photographic vision. French physicist and photographer Henri-Victor Regnault captured the harmony between science and aesthetics in his 1852 salt print of a carpenter’s house in Sèvres. The play of shadow and geometry turns a simple domestic scene into an abstract meditation on design. Félix Teynard, a civil engineer and one of the earliest photographers of Egypt, brought technical precision and poetic sensitivity to his 1850s image of the Pyramid of Cheops. His work remains among the most comprehensive visual documents of the Nile Valley’s monumental past. American photographer George Barker expanded this tradition across the Atlantic, transforming scenes of Niagara Falls and later Florida’s developing towns into narratives of modern growth. Finally, Frederick H. Evans, celebrated for his spiritual studies of cathedrals, reveals architecture as a vessel of light and devotion. His 1912 image of Durham Cathedral epitomizes his belief that photography could render the sacred geometry of space with almost mystical fidelity. Image: Félix Teynard (French, 1817-1892) "Pyramide de Chéops (Grande Pyramide), Égypte," 1853-1854 Salt print from a paper negative made ca. 1851-1852

Influence and Identity: Twentieth Century Portrait Photography from the Bank of America Collection invites viewers to explore how photography has shaped the public image of some of the most influential figures of the modern age. Presented at The National Arts Club’s historic Gramercy Park building, the exhibition spans the transformative decades from the 1920s through the 1960s, a period when portrait photography flourished as both documentation and art. Through 83 masterful works by renowned international photographers, visitors encounter the likenesses of icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Winston Churchill, and Miles Davis—each portrait revealing as much about its subject as it does about the evolving cultural spirit of the time. Drawn from the prestigious Bank of America Collection, the exhibition highlights photography’s power to define identity, influence perception, and shape collective memory. Whether through the lens of glamour, leadership, or rebellion, these images offer an intimate study of fame, character, and creativity. They remind us that portraiture is never merely about appearance—it is about presence, legacy, and the invisible dialogue between artist and sitter. This exhibition is made possible through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program, an initiative that shares the bank’s extensive art holdings with museums and nonprofit institutions around the world. By offering these curated exhibitions at no cost, the program helps sustain cultural organizations while enriching local communities with access to exceptional art. Since its inception in 2008, the program has lent exhibitions more than 175 times, fostering engagement, education, and inspiration across generations. Influence and Identity stands as both a visual chronicle of the twentieth century and a reflection on the enduring power of the photographic portrait to reveal, conceal, and ultimately define what it means to be seen. Image: Yousuf Karsh (Canadian, b. Armenia, 1908–2002). Georgia O’Keeffe, 1956. Gelatin silver print. Bank of America Collection. © Yousuf Karsh

Stephen Daiter Gallery presents Dawoud Bey: Syracuse 1985, an exhibition that revisits a pivotal moment in the photographer’s early career. On view through November 28, the show features work created during Bey’s first artist residency at Light Work in Syracuse, New York. Invited in 1985, just after the acclaim of his Harlem, U.S.A. series, Bey was given the rare opportunity to live and work without distraction for an entire month. Immersed in the rhythm of city life, he spent his days wandering Syracuse with his camera, capturing the quiet poetry of ordinary moments from dawn to dusk. The images that emerged from this period reveal an artist refining his vision, finding meaning in the gestures and faces of everyday people. Commuters waiting for buses, workers hurrying through morning light, students crossing busy intersections—all appear bathed in a luminosity that feels both spontaneous and deliberate. Bey described this time as a return to the streets, a renewed search for those fleeting instants when the world aligns and becomes a powerful visual statement. His Syracuse photographs mark a shift toward a deeper engagement with the human presence in urban space, emphasizing empathy, observation, and rhythm. The exhibition features the original twenty-six prints produced during Bey’s residency, along with a selection of additional early works from Syracuse. Together, they offer insight into a defining chapter of his artistic development—an exploration of light, form, and community that would continue to shape his practice for decades. Accompanying the exhibition is a fully illustrated catalog, Dawoud Bey: Syracuse 1985, which celebrates the lasting impact of this formative project and the enduring spirit of an artist who continues to find profound beauty in the everyday. Image: A Woman Alone at the Bus Stop, Syracuse, NY, 1985 © Dawoud Bey

Duncan Miller Gallery is proud to announce Icons of Fashion, an extraordinary exhibition celebrating the visionaries who shaped the global fashion landscape. Featuring portraits of over 40 of the world’s most renowned designers and couturiers, this exhibition offers an intimate look at the creative forces behind the industry’s most iconic styles. Design legends such as Coco Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino Garavani, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Lily Dache, Gianni Versace, and many others are captured through the lenses of the world’s greatest photographers. The collection includes the work of Herb Ritts, Harry Benson, Irving Penn, Bruce Weber, Cecil Beaton, Jean-Loup Sieff, Horst P. Horst, Yousuf Karsh, Peter Hujar, David Bailey, Dorothy Wilding, and more. Image: Salvatore Ferragamo, 1957 by James Jarche

Robert Koch Gallery is pleased to announce Edward Burtynsky: Transformation, featuring monumental color photographs that examine landscapes altered by resource extraction, manufacturing, rapid development, and the ecological changes that follow. These works continue Burtynsky’s ongoing exploration of how human intervention has reshaped natural environments worldwide, revealing both their vulnerability and magnificence. Edward Burtynsky: Transformation opens concurrent to The Great Acceleration, Burtynsky’s exhibition at the International Center of Photography in New York, presently on view through September 28, 2025. Timed to coincide with Climate Week NYC in September 2025, this landmark presentation, curated by David Campany, marks Burtynsky’s first major institutional exhibition in New York City in over twenty years. It is accompanied by a monograph by the ICP / Steidl. The exhibition embodies Burtynsky’s decades-long pursuit of capturing the profound and often permanent changes human industry brings to the earth’s surface. Each project remains intrinsically linked, showing how local environmental changes reflect broader global patterns, documenting the visible effects on the land brought on by demographic expansion, water consumption, carbon emissions, and mineral extraction. “At such a critical moment in time, I hope this work sparks meaningful dialogue about our relationship with the planet and brings more people to this awareness,” reflects Burtynsky on his mission to document our changing world. Images included in the exhibition range from retreating glaciers in British Columbia’s Coast Mountains, which reflect the impact of climate change on ice caps, to cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, illustrating the lasting marks of human resource extraction on the land. Burtynsky’s image of Lake Mead, Nevada depicts receding waterways brought on by prolonged drought and increasing water demand, highlighting the strain on vital resources in the American West. Burtynsky’s recent 2024 photographs of Olympic National Park, Washington capture the effects of increased rainfall in the region’s remote wilderness areas. His work depicting Thjorsá River, Iceland captures the intricate patterns formed by glacial meltwater as it meanders through Iceland’s volcanic landscape, caused by climate change. Collectively, these images form a powerful visual narrative of our planet’s rapid transformation. Burtynsky’s work was the subject of the award-winning documentary trilogy Manufactured Landscapes (dir. Jennifer Baichwal, 2006), Watermark (dir. Baichwal and Burtynsky, 2013), and ANTHROPOCENE: The Human Epoch (dir. Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, and Burtynsky, 2018). Burtynsky has dedicated over 40 years to documenting human impact on the planet. His works are held in the collections of over eighty museums worldwide, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim, New York; Tate, London; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; and the National Gallery of Canada, among other notable international institutions. Major institutional exhibitions include BURTYNSKY: Extraction/Abstraction (2024), premiered at Saatchi Gallery, London, before touring to M9, Mestre, Italy; Anthropocene (2018), Art Gallery of Ontario and National Gallery of Canada (international tour); Water (2013), New Orleans Museum of Art and Contemporary Art Center, Louisiana (international tour); Oil (2009), Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (five-year international tour); China (2005–2008, international tour); Manufactured Landscapes (2003–2005), National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (toured to Art Gallery of Ontario and Brooklyn Museum); and Breaking Ground (1988–1992), produced by the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (international tour). His accolades include the inaugural TED Prize (2005); the ICP Infinity Award (2008); the Kraszna Krausz Book Award (2010); the Lucie Award for Achievement in Documentary Photography (2011); the Outreach Award at Rencontres d’Arles (2011); the Photo London Master of Photography Award (2018); the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award from the World Photography Organisation (2022); and his induction into the International Photography Hall of Fame (2022), among others. Burtynsky was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006 and currently holds nine honorary doctorate degrees. Image: Rainforest #2, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA, 2024 © Edward Burtynsky

A century after André Breton’s *Surrealist Manifesto* ignited a revolution of the imagination, Throckmorton Fine Art celebrates the enduring power of Surrealism through an exhibition tracing its profound influence on photography. Bringing together works created across Europe, the United States, and Mexico, the show reveals how the Surrealist impulse reshaped both the form and spirit of photographic practice over the past hundred years. Emerging from the psychological and cultural wreckage of World War I, Surrealism offered artists a means of liberation from rationality and the mechanized violence of modern life. Guided by Freudian theory and the anarchic spirit of Dada, its adherents sought to channel the unconscious, the dreamlike, and the forbidden. Photography became a key instrument in this pursuit—an alchemical medium capable of transforming reality into illusion. Through techniques such as photomontage, solarization, and multiple exposure, photographers rendered the invisible visible, collapsing distinctions between body and object, waking life and dream. The exhibition features masterworks by figures such as Leonora Carrington, Kati Horna, and Dora Maar, alongside experimental visions by Edward Weston, André Kertész, and Tina Modotti. Their images reveal a fascination with the uncanny and the erotic—reflections of a world where ordinary objects take on otherworldly charge. Portraits of Jean Cocteau by Berenice Abbott, Lucien Clergue, and Germaine Krull convey the Surrealist attraction to transformation, disguise, and the theatrical self. The movement’s migration beyond Europe is also vividly represented. Mexico, a country steeped in myth and ritual, became a fertile ground for Surrealist experimentation. Works by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lola Álvarez Bravo, and María García bridge Breton’s dreamlike aesthetics with the poetic realism of Latin America. A century later, Surrealism’s legacy continues to blur the line between fantasy and truth—reminding us that imagination remains one of humanity’s most radical acts of resistance. Image: Lucien Clergue, Jean Cocteau, Le Testament d'orphee, 1959 © Lucien Clergue